Governor: Bali Remains Safe for Tourist Visitors

Bali Governor Assures Diplomats that Danger of a Mount Agung Eruption Limited to Small Area Far Removed from Tourist Visitors

(10/27/2017)

At a meeting with a group of foreign consuls based in Bali. Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika declared the Island’s readiness to face a wide range of natural disasters.

As reported by Metrobali.com, Pastika told the group headed by the Deputy Chief of the European Delegation in Indonesia and Brunei Darusalan, Charles-Michel Geurts, that Bali remains safe despite the elevated warning level for the Mount Agung volcano. The Governor’s assurances were delivered in a meeting with the delegation in his Denpasar office on Monday, October 23, 2017.

Pastika went on to explain that the Provincial and National Disaster Mitigation Agencies have synergized their work to be able to have an adequate response in place no matter what eventuates from Mount Agung. “A variety of contingency plans have been prepared if Mount Agung erupts. A number of hospitals and ambulances have been prepared, so there is nothing to worry about,” he said.

Pastika and a number of key provincial officials attending the meeting assured the group of consuls that the danger zone for any natural disaster is limited to a 12-kilometer radius from Mount Agung’s peak, meaning tourist visitors to Bali were not at personal risk.

Shifting gears to the general topic of tourism in Bali, Pastika told the group that the province’s main tourism development problems centered on issues of infrastructure. Adding: “The infrastructure is the main problem. We wish to build a new airport because Ngurah Rai Airport is being overwhelmed by the large number of tourists.” The Governor said other infrastructure issues include the construction of an underpass, shortcut roads, and the quality tourist facilities.

Governor Pastika took the opportunity to underline that Bali does not wish to become a mass tourism destination, but to become a world-class tourist destination of quality.